Swedish Man Cleared of Rape Charges Because Victim Was Transgender

A Swedish man was cleared of rape charges after a court ruled that the crime could not occur because the victim was male, the Swedish website the Local reported.

It was reported that the perpetrator, a 61-year-old man, was not aware that the person he was intending to rape was really a transgender person.

"The intended crime never had the possibility of being fulfilled," Judge Dan Sjöstedt of the Örebro District Court told the media.

The Swedish newspaper Nerikes Allehanda reported that the man followed the woman and was "brutally violent" in the "attempted rape" and ripped off the victim's clothes and grabbed her crotch.

The woman was attacked in front of her ex-boyfriend's home but the incident was stopped after the ex intervened. The authorities then arrived at the scene and arrested the man.

But the court said that the attacker, who reportedly referred to the victim as "she" during the trial, intended to rape a woman and not a man. Since the victim is technically a male, the court ruled the 61-year-old man's intensions were impossible to commit because the rape could never occur.

"We believe that he wanted to rape this woman in particular. But as she turned out to be a man, the crime never was actually committed," said Sjöstedt. The judge also said that the rape was "invalid."

"There are different theories about how this should be handled, and so we're looking forward to seeing the verdict from the Court of Appeals," he said.

The attacker did not get completely off the hook, however, as he is being convicted of assault and faces up to four years in prison and $2,161 in damages to the woman.

The outcome of the case may seem odd to some, since Sweden is one of the most progressive countries when it comes to LGBT rights. It was the first country in the world to remove homosexuality as a mental illness. In 2009, Sweden's officials voted to legalize gay marriage. Gays and lesbians are also allowed to openly serve in the military and same-sex couples are also allowed to adopt children.

Comments

, 2012-07-06 09:50:16

Trans Women are not men #1!"attempted rape" is RAPE #2!It doesn’t matter what organs the victim had or that the rapist thought he was going to forcibly penetrate because he ASSAULTED her with intent to rape when he groped her! Also Thank God the ex was good enough to intervene <3

VFA, 2012-07-06 13:42:25

True, he was going to rape SOMEONE. Also true, "her" is not a "her; it is a man who was assaulted. A transgender woman is a woman when the sex change process has been finished. It seems to me that most transgender "women" are not biologically and physically women, but something in between both genders. The only individuals who deserve to be called a woman (or a man, if the sex change goes the opposite way) is when those individuals actually fully become the other gender (physically , as opposed to anything else).

, 2012-07-06 16:34:07

He attempted to tape.her! He should be charged for his actions regardless of the actual sex of his victim!

, 2012-07-06 20:55:50

Regardless of a person’s gender, rape is rape. Period. This decision is as barbaric as saying raping a prostitute isn’t a crime. These are human beings and deserve to have their rights, their dignity and their bodies, protected. What in heck are we coming to???

, 2012-07-07 04:39:43

I live in Norway. I guess a similar court rule could happen here as well. I cannot recall whether a similar case has been ruled in Norway or not. I would like to read the court order which will be made public in two months time and are for myself what was the case in this matter before I make up my mind.

Oh Jed said:, 2012-07-07 06:28:38

WTF! This judge is a moron.

, 2012-07-15 10:00:02

I just can’t believe these things still happen!!! We can argue forever about her gender but the fact is that someone was hurt and it’s totally stupid to not punish the rapist just because his victim doesn’t have a vagina. I bet they wouldn’t have done the same if it was a young boy...

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